Exercise for the Body, obstacle courses for the mind

We got our biopsyc exams back today! Well, we got the scores online, but I didn't realize it until I was in class. Fortunately, Matt let me use his computer to check my score, and even though I wasn't there to shame Kevin (...even though he was a complete and utter mess while taking the exam because he was so sick), I was mildly happy when I first read my score. However, after awhile, I realized I was pretty lucky in what I got, and I'm much more satisfied than I was at first.

He curved the grade, but even before that I did a lot better than I thought I did. Typically, it seems like when I feel I did well on an exam, I totally bomb it, but when I feel like I bombed it, I do very well. I had felt pretty comfortable with my exam, even though I knew I was guessing on a majority of it, and though it was difficult to truly feel this way, I figured I must have bombed it pretty bad. I told people the max score I probably got was a 35, though I probably got a 25. I half believed this. I had forgotten the test was out of 50, with the score simply doubled, and I was kind of right in my prediction....before any editing, I got a 36/50. A 72%. For a test that he said the average grade was a 58% on AFTER the curve, I was quite proud, though I knew I should have done better. Still....wow! It wasn't a large curve; he doubled our points and added 8 more for shits and giggles and a higher passing rate for his 139 students in our classroom alone. In the end, I got an 80%, which is pretty good, I realized, after he told us what the curve was.

Jamie and I were expecting the typical bell curve, so when he listed A - 18, B - 21, C -25, there weren't really any surprises. But then he put D - 27. I was like, okay okay, I guess there might be a couple more D's than B's, but I wasn't prepared for the 45 Fs that came next. 45! That's a third of the class failing. The average score after the curve was actually a 69%.

Kayla told me she was going to go jogging today after her statistics exam and then somewhat as a shot in the dark asked if I wanted to tag along. I looked her straight in the eyes, paused, and said, "Yes." Later when Iraida asked me why I agreed to go, I shook my head and said I wasn't quite sure why I agreed, I just know that I did. I was kind of hesitant, somewhat wanting to call Lala and say that I wasn't feeling well (which I wasn't completely...I woke up feeling a little under the weather and didn't start feeling better until the afternoon). But I felt fine around 3:45, half an hour before I was to meet her in the games center fully decked out and ready to jog my brains out until 5.30 when I had to work, so I headed home, changed into turquoise shorts, a vibrant dark purple tank, a deep pink bandana across my forhead, and running shoes, stuffing my things for work into a sack and simply walking outside and starting to jog. It was a little relieving, actually -- nobody really knew if I was a jogger or not, and it was nice to know that pretty much all joggers, pro or not, look the same when you're passing by in a car. I was running late, and met Lala outside the school on Atherton, where we continued to jog towards the student union so I could drop off my stuff (which included a change of clothes). I checked Kevin on the way in (Lala was supposed to join me, but bailed last second, though I can't blame her), so I took the full and complete brunt of the chest and shoulder of a cage fighter with my tiny body. I squeaked as the wind was knocked out of me, but it was totally worth it...I think I scooted him back at least a little bit. Lala and I proceeded to jog through the student union, up the stairs, down more stairs, and raced from the PE building's courtyard up two stories of stairs, and finished the rest of the trek by walking up more stairs and around the campus in order to cool off before I had to work.

I have to admit: I loved it. I'm not saying it felt great on my poor feet and my aching side and my little lungs, but I loved exercising and I loved exercising with Kayla. We had a lot of fun and it wasn't too serious -- it was about getting out there and moving, but enjoying it most of all. I was so warm (why did i bring sweatpants to change into!?) that I stayed in my jogging outfit my entire candy counter shift (a little less than two hours), but changed when I went downstairs to work.

Lala and I have made a jogging plan...so far, we're only jogging twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, and once we master that we plan on taking it farther. Also, we still have our biking plans from Monday...though we can't impliment it this weekend, of course.

I'm very, very excited.


I want to stick with this because I realized it fulfills the meaning of a club for me: something of mine that I do with a friend and just have fun while getting something done. I told Kayla to kick my ass if I say no, and she guarenteed me she will (fortunately, she's already on her exercise kick...and has been for several years!).

Like our jogging uniforms? :) That's the candy counter girls for ya!

Obama will be my Friend

I had initially planned to study for the last ten or fifteen minutes of Rec for my exam at 9:30, but I was fortunate that our class got out really early! Well, we were given time for projects, and though we talked for awhile, we didn't really get anything done, but headed out after half an hour anyway. I went to the Outpost and studied at the tables for an hour before my PR exam.

I wanted to be in the classroom before too many people showed up since we don't have enough desks for everyone (good job, csulb). It didn't matter much -- we ended up moving classrooms anyway. Once I get in the mode to take the test, I don't want to study anymore, think about the material anymore, or look at my notes anymore. I'm in the zone and want to spew out information faster than a pledge at his first frat party spews Nat Ice. If I started to look over notes, I'd be in the learning mode and definitely not putting my best foot forward.

I was a little nervous about getting the test, since I had heard how hard it was from Janine. Despite going to bed at 2.48am and trudging to my 8am class this morning, I hadn't covered the essay questions with much effort since I had been focusing on the multiple choice material. Still, that hour before the midterm I crammed all the essayness I could into my brain and let me tell you....I. Nailed. That. Test.

At least, I feel like I did. I don't even know if I guessed on any multiple choice question, and I put down all the information I had in my notes and janine's and even the book for the essay questions. My brain spewed like clockwork. Still, I hope I took good enough notes in class, since I felt like I was somewhat weak in parts of the essay, though I know it wasn't anywhere in the book (I looked pretty well).

I think we're getting the tests back in a couple weeks. That's such a long wait!

Work was a complete and total riot. Melissa and I laughed so hard our stomachs hurt, some about mardi gras and some about Obama (we want him to point finger-guns at the camera and say, "hatcha!" at that point, obama will not just be our president, but he will be our friend. We feel we should dedicate a facebook group to it, but I doubt anyone might care enough join xD). I told her the story behind Noodle's nicknames, and we seriously laughed for 20 minutes straight, and continued to laugh throughout the evening when we'd just think about it. I tried some Charlie's Angels moves to get across the counter a couple times, and let's just say physics and and the laws of gravity won. It was hilarious, and I was crying in laughter several times tonight.

As for work, it was totally dead. We had two people on billiards all night (one only stayed for maybe an hour), and no one even was watching the state of the union address. Only three people showed up to watch the Laker game, which usually pulls in a fair good amount of viewers. We did have a small group go bowling...so two tables and a bowling lane were taken at some point throughout the night. Woah! What an intense day, I know :)

Nothing tomorrow! ....I hope. Still, it always seems to take forever for me to get to bed, even though I clearly need sleep....the life of being a college kid!



hatcha!

study study study! play play play!

I totally ditched my first class, and I really don't feel that bad about it. I mean, I hardly do ditch, and it's healthy right before a major midterm....right? Especially one that the average grade for the first exam is an F, says the professor. Yikes! I had never truly realized how long my class was until I slept in, woke up, took a shower, went to eat breakfast and then realized my class was STILL in session!

Though I guessed on what feels like 3/4ths of the exam, I still feel okay about the biopsyc midterm. The worst part was eliminating three of the five choices very certainly but still having to guess between the remaining two. It was pretty frustrating, and my classmates Jamie and Matt shared my sentiment of annoyance. Still, it's over with, so nothing I can do to change it now!

I have a paper due in Rec220 tomorrow which I hadn't written quite yet. It needed three observations of play, one of which I did and the other two quite frankly I was just going to make up. But Kayla approached me while I was in the games area and told me her class had been canceled, so she was thinking about ditching her 2pm class as well and just going to her 3.30. I encouraged this act of rebellion, and we set out together to actually observe kids playing before we both headed our ways to do homework...and whatever else we do. It was around 12.30, so we headed to the school across the street, then meandered our way back across the street again to watch some kids at a park, not only chatting and having a great time swapping stories, but actually getting my observations for my report done. After, Kayla and I wanted food, so we walked to Hof's Hut not too far down the street...it turns out she loves to walk places instead of driving, just like me! We have made plans to hit the streets next weekend, since I'm going home this weekend, on a bike ride. I think we're going through Seal Beach to Huntington Beach, but in the end, I really don't think it matters were we go as long as we just go!

At Hof's we shared a chocolate milkshake and a piece of strawberry cheesecake. It was really delicious! Lala (her nickname from me) and I had so much fun laughing and talking about, and eventually headed back to the school for her class. I eventually wound my way back home (not without chatting here and there, of course), picked up my laptop, and headed back to school. I was able to whip out my paper pretty quick, but studying for my exam tomorrow was a different thing.

The midterm was for my Public Relations class, which I hadn't given much thought to in lieu of wracking my brains for biopsych. Janine had given me her filled out version of the study guide she had from her class (she had the same teacher awhile back), which looked exactly the same as mine. Since I had already started using my notes, I just used hers and mine together. Around 11.40pm, I asked her what she got on the tests and she informed me she did horrible on all the tests. Frightened, I asked if she studied her study guide, and she said yes. I think it was at this point I decided to really crack down on my studying, compelled by the fact that I'm studying off a study guide that has already failed one PR student. I made the silliest analogies and poems, which really help me retain things. Here's an example:

Dilly Pilly Pee
Sat rightously
good and carefully.

To Willy Chilly
Pilly Illy?
-Milly Filly

In order: Deliberate Planned Performance somethingsomething Good Character Two Way Communication Public Interest Management Function.

There were some other really silly ones...my brain is tired and having a hard time functioning it's more creative side.
Lala and I saw this Pinocchio poster while on our way to Hof's Hut and thought it was cute! We were pretty surprised how old the movie is...70 years, I think? It came out forever ago!

cookies that taste like neurons

From when I got up to when I finally decided to hit the hay at 1am, I've been (intermittently) studying for biopsyc for the exam monday. But I got all my laundry done (well, washed, but certainly not put away), and I decided to make cookies to brighten the study session we were going to have. I had bought pre-made cookie dough thursday, but decided it wouldn't be enough cookies, so I thought I'd make more.

After asking which kind I should make (macadamia nut), I found a recipe online and changed quite a bit of it to better my liking. I'm not a big white chocolate fan, so I replaced half of it with chocolate, added coconut, and changed some measurements and walaa! Delicious and amazing cookies. They were pretty fun to make, too. Since I bought bars of chocolate (and whole macadamia nuts...which are SO expensive! $10 for 12oz!? that's much better than vons, but still way too expensive....), I put them in plastic bags and took a hammer to them outside. I had decided I didn't want chocolate or white chocolate chips because I liked chunks better, and it was pretty fun smacking stuff around with handtools. While I baked, I studied and watched The Little Mermaid. It was fun!

I headed over to Kevin's around 7:45 (janine and craig were watching the academy awards very loudly), where we watched the second half of tombstone before hitting the books. I've never heard of the movie, and the guys were pretty shocked about how pop culture retarded I am (the stuff really doesn't interest me). My cookies were very welcomed and I'm certain the entire plateful of two dozen cookies were gone by the end of the night.

Poor Kevin. He's pretty sick, so he had a hard time focusing on studying. Exam tomorrow!


All that was left of over 3 dozen cookies. Yum!

much to do, none that got done

I went to the store today, and it was lovely to walk there. The weather was nice and I was perfectly warm in a dress and a cardigan. The picture today is of a sign that caught my eye from across the street. On the way back from the store, I took a picture because I liked what I saw so much (I'm not talking about the advertising).

I have much to study and got very little done today. Unfortunately, I've had a small headache since yesterday, and it's very unusual that it's lasted this long. I'm glad it's not a bad headache, though, and I'm drinking lots of water to try and get rid of it.

I actually made a sandwich for dinner, which is more cooking than I'm usually willing to do for myself. Yay!

Off to bed. It's only midnight, but I'm done for the day.

Steak that didn't make the break

I woke up initially at 8:30 am, but forced myself to rest for a good couple more hours. I didn't get much sleep, but I thought it'd be better to get whatever sleep I could when the time allowed it.

I went to a little bit of the SOAR bowling event, and attempted to hurry home and grab my psyc stuff before heading out to the study group at 4. I knew if I walked quickly enough, I could make it back in time for Kevin (he's in my class) and I to get to school on time.... I texted him and found out he had been praying to the porcelain god for a good couple hours already and was in no shape to accompany me to our friday psyc torture session. I hurried back to school and got to the place at 4:06 to realize that I didn't have paper or even a pen. Turns out the bookstore closed at 4pm (juuuust missed it!), so I ambled down the several flights of stairs to the games center where I quickly whisked away some printer paper and a writing utensil for a few hours. I was 15 minutes late.

The study session was ridiculous as fuck. I figure I must have been the dumbest person in there, since everyone was asking questions about WHY this happened and I was attempting to figure out WHAT it was in the first place. Still, it helped me feel slightly better after attending, despite my scribbled notes of confusion and lack of help. Surprisingly enough, I doubt even 30 people showed up, despite my class having 70+ students and probably the same amount of kids in the second class. I was kind of shocked that in a smaller class situation, my teacher was not only understandable, but actually good at teaching. Maybe it's only because it was review...though I didn't recognize a lot of what he was reviewing.

I got back from school and texted Kevin (our plan as of thursday was to go to the study session and go drinking after) to see if he was done puking his brains out. He decided to nab a quick nap while I made some food. I was so excited to cook! I haven't made a meal in months now, since I don't cook if it's only me. I attempted a country fried steak recipe, but the meat was way too overcooked. I was quite disappointed. In addition, I had baked beans, country style gravy, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and my favorite Tropical Punch juice. Besides the meat, it was quite delicious.

After, Kevin, Nens, Ray and I watched Total Recall with the governator in it. Most of the movie was spent laughing at the crappy effects or weird elements, but it was a lot of fun. Kevin and I went to King's Taco with Jer-Bear (kevin's big bro) when the movie finished, and then went to the apartment we went to the night before. There were quite a few more people this time, including some socially awkward "we really don't want to be here" girls and two more with spoiled brat attitudes. Still, I didn't become too bothered by them, and heard possibly the most terrific and disgusting story behind a nickname ever. I don't I'll ever look at Noodles the same way again. He's pretty chill, and likes to people watch a lot, much like me. It's always fascinating to see what others are doing.



After Total Recall and a small bludgeoning pillow fight, we're leaving to King Taco.

Fellow 365-er!

I met a fellow 365-er today! I thought it was so awesome I took my picture of the day with him :) His name is Hafeel, I think? Well, I have it written down somewhere around here.

I visited Melissa (lissa!) and Kayla (lala!) at work, and while we were gabbing away, the ceiling started to pour, then ceiling tiles started coming down in chunks! We put trash cans underneath and maintenence knocked down most of the times that were ruined. We're the bottom of four floors, and I guess the El Pollo Loco above us had water leaking...at alarming rates through the ceiling. It was pretty exciting to see!

Later that evening, my stalker was around (with his girlfriend!? we thiiiink...), and he was pretty creepy. I said Kayla would help him because I wasn't working, and he told me (in front of two guys and two girls) that if I didn't work all the time, he'd kill me. Admittedly, I realize it was his awkward and apparently missing social skills at work, but still, quite fucking creepy.

I was talking to Kayla later as we were closing up, and as I was looking at her, a ceiling tile from our leak came crashing down right behind her! I later karate kicked it in half...those things are a whole lot sturdier than you'd think after it fell soaking wet from the ceiling.

Lala, her boyfriend, Lissa and I all went to In n Out after (their) work to help cheer me up that night :) It was very fun, but we were all quickly getting tired. Still, I really enjoyed hanging out with them, which I don't often get to do.

After I went home, I sat around doing pretty much nothing and feeling lame as heck doing nothing on a thursday night at 11.30. Kevin invited me to play some beer pong, so I headed to one of his friend's places for some games. It was pretty fun, and I learned I'm not so bad at darts and that I still very much suck at beer pong (I knocked over 4 cups! oh man...).


I got back around 3am, having had plenty of fun and ready for a good night's sleep.....

overwhelming work and sweating.

I need more sleep, I'm certain.

Tonight when I was working, one of the clubs had rented out the bowling alley for a couple hours. Unfortunately, one of the girls slipped when throwing the ball and I guess came down pretty hard on her knees. Building managers took care of it, and we did what we could, but I don't think it was too serious (but painful, yes) to the point of a ton of concern. I guess we'll see if anything develops from it?

I learned in psyc two things today:
1. The hormones in men's sweat is relaxing to a woman
2. I am utterly and completely unprepared for the test.

Our teacher decided to do a "review" (which consisted of one question..that wouldn't be on the exam). Before I could even write down the question, nonetheless understand it (which I still haven't been able to), he was reading off the lengthy and difficult answers, a, b, c, d, and e. When he asked who thought it was a, nobody raised their hand. B? Nobody. C? Not a single hand. D? Three people. E? Nobody. He paused. F? around 60 people raised their hand (me included). He looked at us with a very annoyed glare and said, "The answer is c." as if we were just fucking around. A girl then asked, "The average grade on your first test is an F, right?" He said, "Yeah, but I think it's because people aren't used to my tests yet."

His tests are 50 multiple choice questions.

This guy is an idiot.

I talked to Tommy this afternoon. I was quite overwhelmed with work and school and falling behind, and after just finding out I had an essay due tomorrow (why was it not in my planner!?), and that was the final straw on the delicate camel back of my brain. I talked to T for maybe an hour, just going off about how I was overwhelmed. Wonder how I sound when I'm overwhelmed?

"I'm just kind of overwhelmed right now... I'm falling behind and I'm having a difficult time balancing work and school." That's probably what I said a million times. Mind you, my voice was so low I was honestly surprised Tommy could hear what I was saying at all. I get kind of quiet, much like when I'm tired, when I'm overwhelmed.

The weekend is almost here! That means lots of studying...but one more day. I can do this!


Janine and I both agree....we just want to sleep! Maybe I'll sniff an armpit...

just a little more rain and a shiny white camaro

Today was fairly uneventful: waking up tired, trudging to school, got marked down on a paper because my professor didn't know "coddle" was a word (I coddled a puppy...he crossed it out and wrote, "cuddled?"). I don't think this professor likes me much. He asked if I was done reading the case and if I was prepared. I said, "This is prepared (hand out flat) and this is me (hand over other hand)." He returned, "You always have something to say." I replied, "Yeah, I do." Smart move? Probably not, but I'm okay with that.

In the same class, I've made an enemy out of someone I have never talked to before, which I found out because they were talking about "slapping a bitch" in front of Janine after I left. I think it's amusing...so much anger for someone he's never talked to? The opposite of love isn't hate, after all. It doesn't bother me, though, since really...I don't even know him, and since I never even talk to him, why should I care?

I went home during my break to snag my biopsyc book before work, and Fabs, my neighbor/coworker, went home with me. As soon as we got outside it started to sprinkle, then rain, then positively pour with wind. We were outside for a good 10 minutes before a shuttle came, and then the rain pretty much stopped. It was kind of funny!

The street outside the apartment complex doesn't drain well when it rains, especially pours, and so Fabs and I were having a hard time contemplating how to cross the giant puddles that reached the bottoms of cars and were a good few feet across...in even the shortest of puddles..I mean lakes. As we were devising a plan we looked up the street to find a giant armored truck heading our way and creating huge waves as it rolled through the puddle reaching into the road. Fabs and I made a quick choice: run through the puddle right NOW or be completely drenched in the massive waves created by the truck...which I wasn't sure we could outrun anyway since I think the waves reached well over to the sidewalk. We dashed across the puddle and three steps through the puddle we made it safely to the sidewalk...but our backsides were drenched from the previous rainpour and the splashing made by our feet. Fabs was not so happy, but I didn't care, since I was almost home and could change.



Before leaving for work, however, I wore flip flops, leggings that ended at my knees, and shorts so I could wade the massive puddle without soaking my shoes and pants. That's thinking ahead!

It was a pretty quiet day otherwise...I mean, I did get in a pen fight, but it seems to be an almost daily occurence now. Also, I talked to Melissa all night (we worked together! I wasn't just slacking) and we swapped party stories and just general girl talk. It was quite fun, and that girl has a fabulous new camaro as of tonight :D


A bonus image so maybe you could fathom the vastness of these miniature lakes! The picture doesn't just cut off the sidewalk, though, there's a lot more puddle not pictured. That's a two lane road, by the way. The car in the picture is in the far left lane.

positively pouring

It rained more than cats and dogs today...possibly every animal in the zoo came pouring down on us. I brought an extra pair of shoes to school knowing my rainboots (which I woke up to being more ripped and torn than I remember since putting them away saturday) wouldn't keep my feet dry. The crummy duct tape patch job kept out more water than converse would have, at least.

The wind really picked up and was blowing tree parts down...it was incredible! The girl in the picture lives in my apartment complex somewhere. I had a class with her last year, but I don't know her name.

Despite showing up for class 45 minutes late and not missing anything (stood outside for like 30 minutes waiting for the shuttle in the torrential downpour, trudged downstairs at school to print off my article for class, and goofed around for quite awhile before dragging myself off), not much interesting happened....at least class wise.

I didn't work until late, but killing time (and avoiding the sporadic pounding showers) I waited inside the building. The asian stalker guy approached me three times today, and a fourth time was avoided.
1. he asked how my valentine's day was. i told him pretty quiet. He told me his eyes hurt from playing video games for three hours straight. kevin, who was working, didn't realize this was my stalker at this point.
2. situation avoided by pretending to have a deep and intense conversation....about my shoes.
3. he approached me and asked when I got off work. It was around 3.30 at this point, and I was indeed not working. I said 10. He asked what time I got to work....I said 2, hoping that's around the time he first came around so he wouldn't ask why I was at work an hour early. He then offered me a job as his secretary. I said no, I don't do secretary jobs. "It's very intense," he assured me. I would need to sit on top of his piano while he played it. Kevin, who is completley and fully aware this guy is reaching top notch creeper status, is turned away trying to supress an outburst of laughter. That bastard. Despite my several assurances that no, I did not need that job and I had zero intentions of taking it, he finally left with I'm certain an amount of hope that I would indeed one day come back to him and say, please! Let me be the muse/eye candy to you as I inspire beautiful and melodious tunes from the keys you sit at.
4. He's leaving...thank goodness! In a large group of friends. However, walking out peacefully does not seem to be an option, and he serenades to me, direct eye contact, mind you, while he walks out. I don't know the poorly warbled song...I was too creeped out. I quickly turned around and slid down the countertop as soon as he passed by.

I need to learn how to lie better.

Oh yes, I had a terrific valentines day full of romance with my man, but we talked about his intense jealousy issues. he tends to beat up any guy that flirts with me, and gosh darnit, i tell him to stop, but i just think it's sooooo cute when he's all mad like that.

Ugh. Give me a break.

I got a ride home from Kevin...who pretty much lives in my apartment complex, I found out. His roommates are quite the crowd, and it turns out he doesn't mind tackling to the ground (even if the outcome was obvious before the fight began), and they have a Rowdy. He's a stuffed animal beagal named Puppy. He's so cute!

On a much sadder note, my mother called me today to tell me my Uncle Randy had died. He had gotten a staph infection in his foot and it wasn't caught before it went to his heart. Admittedly, I wasn't phased much when I first heard of his death....after all, I didn't know him much, and it had been a good seven years since I've seen him last. But I knew he had begun to get close with my mother over the past year or so, and as the night has gone on, I've become more and more disheartened at the news. At first, I only worried how my mother was coping, but I think she'll be fine. It wasn't until a very short moment ago when I remembered lyrics to a Fleetwood Mac song... "You should never have to bury your own babies." I never even thought of how my grandfather probably feels right now. At this age it almost seems like death and mortality are illusions -- it happens, but not to people I know, not around me. It's a massive shock when I hear of young people dying, but Uncle Randy was old, and he lived so far away. That was my first logic. Now, I'm becoming quite sad that I didn't befriend my own flesh and blood, and sadder thinking how much I still have to lose. Admittedly, most of my family isn't very close to me, and I rarely talk to them. Even within my own nuclear family, it's been months since I've spoken to my brother, and even the others I don't keep much contact with. Still, death is so unfathomable to me, so unfamiliar. It's like imagining a country by reading a book...you know facts, you know pictures, you've heard other's stories and outcomes and details...but until you visit that country (or in this case, I'm speaking more like know someone close who dies), it's still a foreign entity, a foreign idea, a foreign place.

People speak about when they were young, they thought they were invincible. Do I think I'm invincible right now? I've become more reckless since my teenage years, certainly, but invincible? I don't think so. But ask me again in 20 years...and I can't say I'll still agree.


40% chance of rain with a 20% chance of creepers tomorrow? Possibly.

the neuropsychology of chugging along

Today was another quiet day, but I escaped into the supposedly terrible weather of Long Beach for a couple hours to walk about and enjoy myself (the day was slightly overcast but warm enough and perfect for a stroll). I picked up some nice frames at the store for gifts and got myself a slurpee and a big hunk candy bar (though now i realize why it's been so long since i've eaten one...one bite and you're good for a couple years). The banana-coke slurpee was amazing, and after dropping off my picture frames and two new plaid shirts (one pink and one green) that I picked up on my trip, I headed to Smart N Final to go fishing...gold fishing! I've been meaning to pick up one of the giant cartons for awhile, and they're a couple bucks less at Smart N Final than at Vons...but that's not surprising.

My day thus far had been pretty mild -- late start and I talked to my dad on the phone, and though one guy kinda hit on me while I was on the phone, I was much too distracted to be remotely appreciative of it for quite awhile. Smart N Final had a way of changing this.

When I was walking into the entrance, a guy was walking out, so we did our stranger dance around to let each other by, and I gave a small smile to say, "it's chill." The guy was easily 15 years older than me, so I didn't think much of it. As I'm wandering the aisles a few minutes later searching for my fishes, I pass the guy again, and he smiles and so do I...the smile I give to strangers when I'm passing by. I keep on walking but the guy calls out, "What's your name?" I pause and turn around. "My name?" "What's your name?" "...I'm Kristine." "I'm Phillip. It's nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you." At this point, I'm trying to put more than the two aisle difference between us, but he abandons his cart and walks over to shake my hand. "Kristine, right?" "Yes, Kristine." "I'm Phillip." "....it's nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you." I feel like I'm so visibly uncomfortable it should be the duty of the closest cute guy (my age, thank you) to come and rescue me out of my predicament, which somehow ends up with him treating me to ice cream as we laugh about the situation and he falls madly head over heels for me, but really, I would have settled for nearly any help at this point.

The guy proceeds to ask me if I'm new in the area, and after assuring him I'm not, he points in some direction and says, "Oh, you live over there?" I say yes and he says that's where everyone lives, and we have a short (but too long) meaningless chatter about the proximety of "that direction" and the closeness of shopping. I quickly end my awkward conversation without being rude, and after searching down one more aisle for crackers, decide to get-the-fuck-out-of-there before the guy can come back and ask me anything else that could possibly lead to more squeamish and possibly stalkerish situations. My seven minute Smart N Final adventure came to a close as I hurried home to just give up on enjoying walking around outside to reading Happy Birthday or Whatever again in a dark room instead of doing my homework.

Other than that incident, the day has been quiet, and I spent the better part of the evening watching tv shows about the extrodinary human body. Pound for pound, the human bone is stronger than cement because of the paper-thin marrow inside that allow for flexibility. Memories are consolidated in REM sleep, so it's best to study then get a good night's rest rather than cram before an exam -- you'll retain more and probably feel much better, too. You only use 1/3 of your muscle's full power...even when you're straining yourself. The body can go into survivor mode and when absolutely necessary, begin to eat itself, like the muscles. You can see the light from a single candle from 14 miles away, you are always hearing even when you're asleep (hence why we can wake up to noises), and the reason your dreams can be so funky is that even though your brain is most active when you're asleep, the part of the brain that deals with logic isn't as active. A lot of remarkable discoveries have occured because of dreams -- their brains took the memories it was consolidating from the day and took away the logic. Thus was born one of Einstein's theories, as well as robots on Mars. Sure, some people will debate these things...but that's okay. The human body is absolutely extraordinary.


I was inspired by these shows, especially the one focusing on the amazing abilities of the brain. It says, "you are the stimulus that sends electrical impulses to release epinephrine from my adrenal glands. (you make my <3 go ba-boom!)" What? I thought it was cute :)

ps. yes, the neurons in our bodies are rainbow. because i said so.

Valentines Day, single style

It's valentines day! Janine and I pitched together to buy C Bear a new cord to plug his ipod into his car radio because his didn't always work properly. I got D a mug and a bowl and Janine H2O Uno, as well as Whoonu? for always taking care of me at the Delta Chi parties :)

Speaking of Delta Chi parties, this morning at breakfast, C Bear randomly threw his hand in the air and called, "C BEAAAAAAAR! C BEAR! Five more minutes, C Bear!!" in a high pitched voice to mock mine. It was so hilarious and sporadic that Janine and I just burst out laughing, and it's now becoming a running joke.


Janine and I cleaned up our room (by the weekends, it's totally trashed from the hectic school week), and I put together a present for Euki.... I got her a snowglobe with an electronic picture thing in the middle. Though it took a lot of working with, I finally got 40 pictures on it of times we've spent together! I'll give it to her the next time I see her. Also, if you flip the snowglobe 180 degrees, it starts to sing christmas music...though it didn't say that it would anywhere on the box! Very weird, but oh well.

Craig had his V-day pref dinner to go to, so we watched him get all dressed up for that, and after he left I got him the ties he forgot...then the camera he forgot later. Janine and I just watched Princess Diaries and other things on tv til around 9, where we went to Cold Stone with Ray. After, we came back to the apartment and Daniel showed up, and we played Mario Kart 64! It wasn't too much of a challenge for me (I kinda own at that game), it was fun for sure.


Not much of anything productive today, but it was very laid back and enjoyable. I feel like it was a little bit of a waste, but I guess it's nice to have a day off to relax.

Rainy weather and roommates

The weather was pretty stormy today... We were planning on going shoe shopping and check out an art booth down at Huntington Beach, but we got a late start because I accidentally slept in! C bear, Janine and I headed to the museum of latin american art. Janine and I browsed the shop while Craig went and looked at a piece of art for his class. They had a lot of cool in things in shop! I was very fond of this hand made anklet/bracelet, but it was $20, so I decided against buying it. I did get two pens: one with a unicorn and one with an iguana on top! They pieces are handmade out of clay, and you can even see the fingerprints still on them. VERY cool! Also, I got a tripig...it's a little clay pig with three legs! I got the iguana pen and the piggie for Tyler, and will send them to him for his birthday (which was like...three weeks ago!). He's studying in Japan right now, but I'll send them over anyway...hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. He likes strange things like that...like me! We're quite simliar in personality. Also, I got handmade sandpaper...on a card...it's a lot cooler than it sounds...really! It has a drawing of two llamas on it...it's very cute. I'm going to put it in my brown book of "long beach" stuff :)

We went to Huntington Beach after to try to go get some art from a seller who is only there on Fridays, but the weather was very poor, and the vendors were all packing up or already gone. After, we went to Burger King, then Janine and I went to Target...and bumped into Craig!

We hit up the men's volleyball game again (still playing hawai'i), and we won again! I said hello to Derrick, and Janine and I went home to quickly get ready to head to the Delta Chi house for a party.

The party was great -- Janine and I just socialized with a lot of the new rushes and some of the actives we'd never met before (and of course, the ones we knew, too!). Around 1a.m. Janine and I went upstairs to use the bathroom (the toilet in the basement aka the party room is positivley disgusting and doubtfully ever cleaned) where I ended up laying down on the giant beanbag. Janine was trying to convince me to get up so we could say goodbye downstairs and go home, but I kept saying...five more minutes! She threatened to get Craig and 30 seconds later, she pulled him into the room. I turned around on the beanbag and said, "C beaaaaaaaaar! Five more minutes, C Bear!"

It was a fun night and it was nice partying with Delta Chi. They're always so much fun to be around!

volleyball and pancake puppies

I told Derrick I'd go see him play in his first volleyball game...and it was fun! We were against Hawai'i, and we won the first three games! It was pretty exciting.

Craig's fraternity were closing out their rush week with an event in the games center. Delta Chi bowled and played pool and ping pong. I didn't work, but helped out Kayla and Melissa for awhile before and after the game.

After we helped close up the games area, Janine, Craig and I weren't ready to go home yet, so we went to Denny's instead. We talked and joked around for a good long time before heading home.

sleepy green skies

Craig and I were up until 3:30am last night just talking. I figure I better get all the talk out of my system when I'm young because I'm not sure I can do this when I'm old!

This morning was really frustrating. I walked around campus for 40 minutes searching for the police station. The teacher said it was by the CBA (it's not), then said it was off Atherton Street (It's off Palo Verde Avenue), and I ended up being 30 minutes late. I was quite frustrated because a lot of the maps didn't have the new construction going down which made it difficult to find stuff. Still, it was fun going on a tour of the station and having a fake incident created (where $5 million in marajuana and $1 million in meth were found in a house a couple blocks from school...). Some people thought it was real until the very end...that made me smile thinking if it had been! The cannibis plants were 10 - 12 feet high...and growing in a house in the middle of Long Beach! That'd be crazy to see.

We had a fire drill today, and it certainly cheered me up, since vendors (even though I wasn't working..) get to stay in the building longer because they get to shoo people out, and they get to enter first (not that I did anyway...I had to go to class). I did stay behind with a couple other coworkers and was like...everyone get out! It was really fun.

I was approached by a guy today and the incident that followed was...well, quite odd. He's very...well, just a friendly person, though he doesn't mean anything by it. I'm usually behind the counter, but this time I was in front of the candy counter talking to Kayla, who was working. The guy, Chris, comes up, gives me this big huge massive hug, kisses my head, and tells me I should wear my hair in pig tails because of some kind of weird...bet or something we made ages ago. I can't really remember what it was anymore, but whatever. He's almost 32, by the way. He proceeded to pull my nasty hair out of its ponytail (I tied it back because I was up too late talking last night to squeeze in a shower!) and was like...agjda;ljkfdakjf;a my nasty hairrrr.....It was a strange event that would have shocked the death out of anyone, but it was mostly just odd to me, as in...out of the ordinary. I guess I have such a low space bubble myself!

I harassed Kevin (a coworker.../taking a class with me...but I didn't know it until earlier this week. It was strange to see him in my class all of a sudden!) a whole bunch today. For some reason, we have this insult/insult relationship, and it's positively lovely. He's very quiet, but he belongs to the Sig Pi fraternity, so I figured...how quiet could he really be? Turns out he's not quiet at all! Just nobody really went out of their way to talk to him, probably figuring he's just a "keep to himself" kinda guy. He's an absolute riot, and we both struggle to keep serious faces when we're receiving insults from each other...but occasionally one of us will slip and start to chuckle pretty hard.

I got a shower around 1:45pm. It was awesome.


Tonight wasn't very busy, and I was so very very tired. I can't believe I'm not in bed yet! I really wanted to sleep at work, and for someone who has never fallen asleep in class EVER and doesn't take naps...that's saying something. I'm just drained. I didn't have the energy to read, and after playing around on Chris's laptop, began to just veg to save energy.

When Chris and I were walking to his car (he takes me home) the sky was kind of green. He and I both agreed...I think it's the light plus storm clouds...and the smog probably is helping, too. It was kind of magnificent, actually. A green sky! It's very overcast outside.

fraternity bowling

We had guest speakers in my counseling class...I'm kind of excited because I feel like this is what I'm going to be doing...you know...in a million years when I'm done with school. At least, it feels like well...22 is far enough away as it is...24? That's totally and completely incomprehensible at this point. Completely!

Another long night working, but Melissa and I got it all done (and i also finished my biopsych homework at the same time!). Sigma Pi was having an event playing ping pong, billiards, and bowling down in the games center, where I worked from 7:15pm til 10:15. One of the guys in the fraternity actually works with us, and we really give each other a bad time. It's terrific.



Another day of school tomorrow...I still need to shower :)

Work and Play

Class: 8a.m. to 12:15p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays I get about an hour break in between classes, which I spent catching up with Demetra, who had gone home for the weekend, and eating food. After a hopeless journey to two book stores, neither of which carrying my book, I watched my favorite tv show Secret Life of the American Teenager and became a lover of some game on Facebook. You have to make as many words as you can out of 6 or 7 letters that they give you, but you're on the clock! I've improved dramatically: I started with the verbal skills of a mime and have slowly improved to the verbal skills of a salesman :)

I learned when our school would be showing Twilight, but was bummed to find out I worked both nights. Oh well...I'll only have to wait a month until it comes to dvd!


My coworker Chris and I had time to kill before we had to clock out for the night, so we thought a picture next to my favorite story of vamps would do for a good scene. Girl swoon, boy apathy. So typical!

Scrub scrub scrub!

Bored to a lonely death, I decided to cook a miniature feast so I'd have an excuse to get the roommates up. Eggs, biscuits, coffee, and french toast filled the house with a sweet perfume and alibi. Despite the large amount of homework I had, I pattered around doing laundry and cleaning up, and though I haven't strayed farther than the laundry facilities in the apartment complex, I've gotten nothing else productive done. Sorry classes!


Casper, Gabe, Craig, Janine and I watched the Lakers beat the Cardinals today, destroying their 23 home-game streak in a beautiful purple and gold blaze of glory (Craig is somehow making me a Lakers fan...). I got a pair of Tilt jeans on eBay, and hope they ship here soon...as much as mine fit so well, the 8-inch tear from the middle of the thigh going up just doesn't seem like something I should wear anymore :)

Delta Chi Mixer

I visited my family in Riverside and came back for a party at the Delta Chi house. My roommate Craig's fraternity was holding "Frozen Over", the big Delta Chi party of....well, at least for a few months. Janine and I agreed to go -- Craig's fraternity brothers are sweeter than heck and a ton of fun to hang out with. Plus, who doesn't want an excuse to dress up pretty?



The theme was "winter wear", but decidedly a southern californian winter: after I put on my puffy coat that makes me look like a depressed marshmallow, Craig vetoed the jacket and insisted on something that allowed me to put my arms completely down at my side. I decided on a scarf and boots to make myself look wintery (I accidently left my scarf!).

A bunch of people were there, and though it wasn't quite what we expected, I had a great time (and we got free doughnuts afterwards). The party got busted at 1:30 a.m., but Janine and I had long gone by then, sawing logs to try and catch up on some much needed sleep.

Day One: Birthday 21

Inspired by PhotoJoJo's article about a project similar to this, I've decide to document the 21st year of my life through one photo per day, with a small description to follow. Here's hoping I remember to take one pic a day!

Hopefully after one very short year passes, I'll be able to look back at the year the world was just opening up to me. Here's to a great 21!


My roommate Janine and I started off my birthday with a classic bang: Disneyland!

It goes to show...you're never too old for toon town (or for making wrong turns). We ended the night with a party at the apartment where we played games, air hockey, and simply socialized!